


we can stay here (and laugh away the fear)

by hangyulgod



Category: Pentagon (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Crying, Drabble, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Platonic Relationships, huis enlistment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29242020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hangyulgod/pseuds/hangyulgod
Summary: shinwon and hongseok realize that they don't actually want hui to leave.
Relationships: Ko Shinwon/Lee Hwitaek | Hui/Yang Hongseok
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31





	we can stay here (and laugh away the fear)

**Author's Note:**

> essentially. shinwon is crying about huis enlistment and hongseok joins in and then hui sees them and goes like why tf r u crying CHEER UP:D only for them to cry even more
> 
> *gasps* this is not a pov: ur shinwon and ur in love with hui fic. im supposed to be working on another wip now but this idea popped up into my head so here u go the current ptg hyung line (with jinho in the military) angst kind of. i wrote this in like two hours and i didnt proofread so dont expect anything
> 
> btw theres no like pining and romantic tension or anything jus best bros who like to cuddle
> 
> english is still not my first language so pls be kind!! ;;
> 
> title from [intertwined](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaHrWLCUmfc) by dodie

Shinwon had thought that he had gotten over Hwitaek’s enlistment, a long time ago. He had realized that it was not as big of a deal he had thought — a few days before the older was originally supposed to leave, he had finally come to terms with that. Yet Hwitaek’s enlistment date had gotten  _ delayed,  _ and while Shinwon had initially thought that he would only have the older with him for a week or two more, two weeks turned into a month and a month turned into two. At one point, he had truly thought that the older would just never leave.

(Maybe if he didn’t think about it at all, Hwitaek would just stay forever.) 

But then he  _ is  _ leaving. This time, it is finalized. Nothing is going to stop him from leaving, it seems. Hwitaek is leaving in two weeks. The articles he sees on the trending page of Naver only serves as a cruel reminder, laughing at Shinwon’s face at how naive he had been.

His mood had been sour when the articles were released. Hwitaek had been in the studio with Wooseok for the whole day; Hyunggu had dance classes at the company; Hongseok had his drama to film and gym sessions to attend. Shinwon, for once, is thankful that he is alone so he could sulk on his own without someone in his face, asking if everything’s alright when they  _ know  _ it’s not.

But even then, Shinwon hadn’t expected that he would cry. He isn’t a crier, he tells himself. He isn’t Hyunggu who tears up at the sight of anything vaguely touching; he isn’t Hongseok who has been growingly sentimental and chokes up whenever he thinks of the team; he isn’t Hwitaek who never cries at anything but will bawl at the thought of his members (but recently, Hwitaek barely cries anymore. It’s like he had uprooted his habit of tearing up at the thought of his members, planted it into Hongseok, smoothed over the hole where his habit has once been). Shinwon is—   
  


Shinwon is  _ strong.  _ He is funny, he is bold, he is a good target to be made fun of but he makes fun of others to make up for it. He isn’t sentimental. He isn’t a crier.

(If that is the case, then, why are tears stinging at your eyes?)   
  


The door creaks when it is opened, and Hongseok shuffles into the apartment, his black hair messy atop his head. He is quiet when he clicks the door shut, ridding himself of the long coat he had been wrapped in and placing it onto a chair. It is then when he singsongs cheerily, “I’m back, Shinwon-ah—”

Hongseok shuffles further into the living room, catches sight of the younger man. He observes him carefully, and then he speaks up, stunned, “Shinwon-ah, are you crying?”

“Am not,” Shinwon wipes at his eyes frantically and mutters under his breath, painfully defensive. He feels like he’s five years old again, when he had scraped his knees against concrete after a bad fall, and it had stung so much when his mom put disinfectant on it, but he hadn’t wanted to admit that it hurt so he only let out silent sniffles. His mom could probably tell that he was crying, but she hadn’t said anything about it. He is now twenty years too old to do that anymore, yet it doesn’t matter. It is better than blatantly admitting, after all.

“What’s wrong?” Hongseok sits down onto the couch next to him, a gentle hand on his thigh. It is grounding and his palms are warm, but Shinwon pretends not to enjoy the touch as much as he does. The older man’s eyes flicker to the taller’s phone screen, where an article about Hwitaek’s enlistment is displayed, blindingly bright, and he softens, “It’s going to be okay. He’s going to come back in no time.”   
  


“It’s almost two years,” Shinwon argues pathetically, hinging on a whine. He cringes at his outburst, ashamed of his petulance. Hongseok’s hand on his thigh presses down firmer, the older’s thumb digging into the muscle just slightly.

“You know he’s going to be at home a lot more than Jinho-hyung is,” Hongseok tries, “It’s going to be okay. You’ll see him so much that you wouldn’t think he is enlisting.”   
  


It hadn’t only been about not being able to see Hwitaek around. Shinwon sniffs indignantly, “I know. It’s not about that, it’s just—”

“Hm?”

“It’s just that,” Shinwon fumbles for his words, “It’s just that he’s been genuinely happy recently and is the happiest I’ve seen him since debut. But now he’s leaving, and I didn’t do anything for him.”

“But you did,” Hongseok tells him,  _ “We  _ did. We got Hui-hyung our first win, remember? And the AAA award. We’re doing better. You know we are.”

“I know,” Shinwon says. He takes a deep breath, tries to stop the tears from streaming down his cheeks, “I just wish I could have done more.”

“Hui-hyung doesn’t care about those things, Shinwon-ah,” Hongseok says, “He is happy with how we are doing now. He doesn’t—”   
  


Hongseok cuts himself off suddenly, goes silent for a long while. Shinwon turns to look at the older only to find his eyelashes wet with tears, his free hand covering the rest of his face.

“Are  _ you  _ crying?” Shinwon asks in a hushed whisper, stunned. He wipes at his own eyes, reaches out to curl his arm around the older’s.

The older man shakes his head with a choked laugh, tugs his hand away to cover his face entirely. He takes a deep breath through his nose, huffs into his tear-stained hands, “Why are you making me cry, you brat?”   
  


“I didn’t make you cry!” Shinwon protests through his own sniffles, the tears not stopping as the older holds in choked sobs, “It’s you who suddenly started crying.”

“If you didn’t start saying sad things then I wouldn’t,” Hongseok argues back. It’s kind of a funny sight, really, the two of them arguing about who had made who cry just as tears rush down their faces. The older man turns his head and rubs at his nose, “Ah, I can’t do this.”   
  


Shinwon is about to open his mouth and retort something in response when the apartment door crankles open. It is Hwitaek in his newly bleached blonde hair, and unlike Hongseok, he is loud when he crashes into the dorm, announcing gleefully, “I’m back, kids, did you miss me?”

Hongseok exchanges a look with Shinwon, and suddenly his choked sobs aren’t held in anymore. Hwitaek shuffles into the living room and takes off his bucket hat, his eyes widening when he zones in on the sight, “Are you two crying?”

“No,” Shinwon lies unconvincingly just as Hongseok buries his face into the crook of his neck as soon as he catches eyes with Hwitaek, sniffling into his neck. He, too, sniffles again.

“Ah, what’s wrong?” Hwitaek, for some reason, snorts out a laugh, loud and honking, “What happened? Why are you kids crying? Don’t cry.”   
  


For some reason, that is what makes Shinwon break. He hides his face into Hongseok’s hair before he cries right in front of Hwitaek, his breath stuttering as tears stream down his cheeks. 

“What’s wrong?” Hwitaek repeats helplessly, and he shuffles in closer to rest a hand on Shinwon’s shoulder. Shinwon only points at his now turned off phone without saying a word, trying to contain his own sobs.

Hwitaek huffs, “What are you talking about? Did you watch a sad vid— Oh.”   
  


The leader sighs, walks even closer to the both of them. He gently pats at Shinwon’s head, threading his fingers through his hair, “Hey. Scoot over for me, okay?”   
  


Reluctantly, Hongseok moves his head away and scoots over. Hwitaek squeezes between the both of them, taking Shinwon’s hand in his left and Hongseok’s in his right, “I’m going to be back so quick you wouldn’t even know, I promise.”   
  


“You’re leaving for almost two years,” Hongseok protests. Shinwon can’t help but laugh through his tears — it was the very same man who had told him that Hwitaek would be coming back soon. 

“I know, I know,” Hwitaek says, “But I’m gonna be home a lot. You’re gonna get so sick of me that you wouldn’t want to see me around anymore.”   
  


“That’s not the point,” Shinwon says, “I just feel like—” A sob, then, “I could have…  _ we  _ could have given you more before you leave.”   
  


Hwitaek squeezes his hand gently, “It’s okay. I’m happy where we are right now, I promise. Everyone is happy and healthy for the most part, and we are finally all together again. That’s what matters to me the most. Just don’t cry anymore, okay? It’s no big deal. Nothing to cry over for.”

Shinwon snorts, “You were the one who bawled over Jinho-hyung, Hui-hyung. Are we not allowed to cry too?”   
  


“Yah— you brat,” Hwitaek frowns, his nose wrinkling up, “That’s not the point. Aren’t you supposed to be sad, hm?”   
  


Hongseok shuffles in closer and drapes himself onto Hwitaek’s back, interrupting their conversation. He rests his chin on the older man’s shoulder, having finally gotten himself together. Hwitaek laughs and tilts his head back so the sides of their heads bump together gently, “You only like my hugs when I’m leaving, huh?”   
  


The other doesn’t respond but a pout settles onto his lips, his tear-stained cheeks scrunching up. Hwitaek only laughs even more, letting his hand go and reaching up to pat his cheek, “You two are going to be the oldest members, for God’s sake. Don’t cry anymore.”   
  
“I’m never crying over you again,” Shinwon seethes weakly, but is returned with an amused smile from Hwitaek, who only squeezes his hand again.

“Good. I don’t want you to cry over me,” Hwitaek tells him seriously. He lets go of Shinwon’s hand too and turns so he can engulf Hongseok into a hug for real, patting his back gently. Hongseok holds him back and buries his face into the crook of the older’s neck, breathing in heavily.

Hwitaek lets go first, but he reaches over to the coffee table and grabs a sheet of tissue paper, mopping up the tears on the younger’s face gently. He crumbles the sheet in his hands and sets it down onto the table before turning to Shinwon and hugging him too, warm and tight. Shinwon hugs him back a little too tight, making the older laugh in his arms. He, too, grabs a sheet of tissue paper and wipes off Shinwon’s tears for him, beaming up at the younger man with a pat on his cheek.

“I’m going to miss you, Hui-hyung,” Hongseok admits in a whisper, “Really.”   
  


“I’m gonna miss you too,” Shinwon tacks on quietly, “I don’t know what’s going to happen when you’re not here all the time.”   
  


The leader’s face falls a little, and for a second, Shinwon really thinks that the older might start crying too. But he doesn’t, instead smiles assuringly, “I know. I’ll miss you both too. A lot.”

After the confession, though, the three of them sit in the silence of the living room, unsure of what happens next. Hwitaek, then, stands up from the couch with a clap of his hands, “I’m gonna go shower. You go shower too, Hongseok-ah, you stink.”   
  


Hongseok laughs, his tear-swollen eyes lighting up. Shinwon watches as Hwitaek skips into the corridor with some kind of bubbliness that only he has, and exchanges a smile with Hongseok through still-teary eyes.

(And, when the three of them are freshly showered and sleep-soft, Hwitaek doesn’t raise an eyebrow when the other two come piling into his bedroom, like an unspoken agreement between them, nor does he complain when the three of them squeeze into one bed far too small for them, Hongseok hugging him from the back and Shinwon holding him in the front. He is still leaving, and perhaps Shinwon and Hongseok will still miss him way too much, but right now, at the moment, everything is okay. Just for now.)

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> click [here](https://twitter.com/huiwonz) for my twitter to talk huiwon  
> and [here](https://curiouscat.qa/huiwonz) for my cc n say nice things to me!
> 
> comments + kudos are always appreciated <3


End file.
